Just a Hanyou
by Damn Curse
Summary: How much of his spirit must Inuyasha sacrafice to save those close to him? In the end, will there be anything left of the man who is, to many, just a hanyou?
1. Just A Hanyou Part 1

**This is an Inuyasha fic, so there's obviously going to be Angst, Drama, Action/Adventure, Romance, and Humor.**

**I do not own Inuyasha.**

Just A Hanyou – Part 1

The moon was no more than a thin crescent in the sky, illuminating the flat meadow just outside the forest's border.  In the middle of that meadow was a solitary, unmoving figure.  Though his face was downcast towards the ground, his golden eyes were turned towards the sky.

_"When did everything start to go so horribly wrong?_

_Just when my life, our lives, seemed to take a turn for the better, THIS had to happen.  S'funny, this actually feels right.  It was before, when we were all so happy, that felt wrong.  Just goes to show how fucked up my life really is."_

He was, after all, just a hanyou.

As the figure relaxed his bare upper body against the wooden boards that he had been secured too, his shoulders slumped enough to set off his bonds' defense enchantment.  Suddenly, a large and rather painful jolt of powerful purifying energy coursed through the figure's body.  

His golden eyes faded to a dark violet as his silver hair darkened.  Once he was fully "purified", the holy assault ceased.  The figure quickly tensed his body in hopes of avoiding the next part of the spell. His muscles screamed at him for the sudden movement after days of inactivity, but it was too late, the second part of this particular restraining spell kicked in as demonic energy sparked from the collar around his neck.  The electrical surge that jolted through his body would have killed a normal human, _should_ have killed him too.  Instead, his hair and eyes returned to their natural colors, though not without causing a bit of pain first, but he refused to scream.

_"Damn! That one hurt more than before."_

Old wounds reopened as the charred flesh around his chest cracked under the straining movement of his labored breathing. 

_"Damn monks! If I ever get out of this…"_

The figure paused as thunder was heard in the distance.

_"Fuck, I'm not getting out of this.  I'm gonna die in this meadow…alone, like the dirty hanyou everyone thinks I am…"_

The single tear that left his eye was soon hidden as rain drops began to fall from the sky.

_"Damn rain…_damn demons… ___damn humans…__damn…__Kagome."_

His anger rose at the future girl's abrupt abandonment, but his rage was quickly soothed by the cool rain that now fell at a steady rhythm, thoroughly soaking his bruised and bloody body.  

As much as he wanted to hate her, his heart wouldn't let him.  She had left their group, had left him.  And now, as he was mercifully close to death, she was 500 years in the future, hopefully safe…and definitely happier than he could have ever made her.

He was, after all, just a hanyou.

His senses, though considerably dulled, suddenly picked up what sounded like voices from the edge of the forest.  He inwardly cringed as he imagined the demon children returning to pelt him with stones again or the human monks visiting once more to slap some of those damn wards on him.  If he craned his head slightly forward and strained his ears, though not enough to set off his enchanted bindings, he could just make out a conversation.

"Are you sure you still have the scent, Shippo?  Kirara lost it once the rain started," a familiar, and at that time, unwelcome, female voice asked.

_"Crap."_

"I can still smell him, Sango.  Come on guys, I think he's really close!" the excitement and hope in the child's voice was almost overpowering.

_"Please, no."_

It's not that he didn't want to see his friends ever again.  He just didn't think they would let him die, and right now, that's all he wanted to do.  Miroku and Sango, they might understand and let him pass on.  After all, they had dealt with more than their unfair share of death and loss.  The tiny kitsune, though, wouldn't let him die, nor would he understand why the hanyou would want to just pass on.  Shippo would be hurt if he left him, and the hanyou knew he couldn't do that to the kid.

"I think I see him through the trees!" the scent confirmed it to be the lecherous monk, Miroku. "Hurry, Lady Kagome!"

Those last words made the breath catch in the hanyou's throat.  She had come back…to him.  Kagome had left her world full of safety and happiness to come back to his side.  She was putting her life…at risk …for him…

_"NO!"_

The danger surrounding his companions' arrival suddenly crashed into him like a raging river.  They were going to be in danger because of him!  He had to warn them.  He had to tell them to get out while they still could.  He had too…

The kitsune cub bounded out of the forest and into the meadow when he suddenly stopped short.  His clothes and fur had become soaked from the rain, and the hair on his head partially hid his face, but the hanyou could still make out the large blue eyes that were suddenly filling with tears.  Shippo stood there, taking in the horrific scene ahead of him before silently whispering.

"Inu…Inuyasha?"

The large cat-demon, Kirara, burst through the clearing and landed swiftly, allowing her two female passengers to dismount.  The monk who just now emerged from the forest completed the group.  It was he who next recognized the figure before them as their missing friend.

"Oh Buddha, no!" Miroku whispered in a shaky voice, drawing the attention of his female companions from the unresponsive kitsune.

Sango gasped as she quickly brought a hand to her mouth, "Oh lord."  The demon exterminator's eyes shifted to the face of her friend, trying to gauge the reaction from the futurific girl.

Kagome took two steps forward, subconsciously grasping the trembling Shippo that she had picked up as soon as she had seen the kitsune's shaking form.  She continued silently walking towards the bound hanyou until she was no more than two feet away from him.  His body was covered in cuts that ranged from festering slices to deep gashes; his upper body was covered by scorched and cracked skin; his once proud mane looked to have been burnt to a much shorter length, the once-shining, silver color now dulled with dried blood; his ears, which Kagome had always thought were precious, appeared to have been maimed and bitten. (a/n: somewhere, a female Inuyasha fan is cursing my name)

Her eyes took in the hanyou's outspread arms and his bound feet when a horrific realization dawned on her.

Inuyasha had been crucified.

She had to fight back the bile that threatened to jump up her throat when she noticed, for the first time, the blatant and chilling fear that was evident in his eyes.  Inuyasha was afraid, more afraid than Kagome had ever seen him.  As she reached out a hand to touch his battered face, he suddenly sprang to life, jerking away from her outstretched hand.

"Inuyasha, I-" she started before she was suddenly cut off.

"You have to get away, now!" Inuyasha snarled; his voice hoarse and cracked from over a week of disuse.  "Run away, quickly!"

Kagome recoiled at the fear in his voice as Shippo clutched to her all the tighter.

"Inuyasha, we merely wish to help you.  There's no need to snarl at Lady Kagome," Miroku stated as he and Sango came to stand alongside Kagome.

Inuyasha thrashed against his bonds, trying in vain to instill his urgency and fear into his companions.  Instead, he just set off the restraining enchantment.

"FUCKING FORGET ABOUT ME!  SAVE YOURSELVES, GODDAMNIT!" the hanyou yelled over the sound of the crackling electricity that raced over his body.  He could sense a large force of demons, waiting just outside the immediate area.  All of them worked for the bastard who had done this to him.  All those demons were just waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"Kagome!  Make it stop!  Make it stop hurting him!" Shippo began to wail.

Miroku quickly stepped toward his 'sizzling' friend as a second wave of energy coursed over the now human Inuyasha.  Kagome turned and hid her face in Sango's shoulder, as the older girl patted the back of her friend's head for comfort.  Once the restraining enchantment finally ended, Miroku stepped closer to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, hold still, I'm going to get those bonds off of you," the monk said as he prepared to free his friend.

"No, there's no time," Inuyasha feebly murmured, his head downcast.  "Get Kagome and Shippo out of here, please."  The look in the hanyou's eyes startled the monk.  It was a look of helplessness, a look of sad acceptance.  Inuyasha seemingly knew his ill fate and was resigned to it.  Miroku, for once, was at a loss for words.

"Miroku, please, they're coming.  I…I can't protect you guys anymore," Inuyasha whispered as Miroku felt his throat tighten when Inuyasha turned his face towards the monk.  Even with the rain, tears were still evident on the hanyou's face.  "Tell Shippo that…that I'm sorry for leaving him.  He…he won't understand," whimpered the crucified half-demon.

Miroku nodded and turned back to his other companions, his own tears now mixing with the rain.  Sango had caught what Inuyasha had told the monk, and she nodded as she motioned for Kirara.

"Kagome," Sango whispered to her friend, "we need to leave.  I can feel a very large presence of youkai nearby…we can't stay here…"

Kagome whipped her head up to meet Sango's teary eyes, "But…but Inuyasha…he…" Kagome trailed off as the realization of what they must do dawned on her.

Shippo suddenly shot away from her and bolted to the base of the cross which held the half-dog demon.  He frantically tugged at the cross, trying in vain to uproot it while desperately yelling over his shoulder, "Come on guys!  We have to get him out of here before those demons come!"  Shippo halted his actions as he stared at the faces of the three adults behind him:

Miroku stood with his face angled down to the ground, murmuring a small prayer.  With Shippo's enhanced hearing, he could tell the prayer was for a wounded soul to finally find peace in the afterlife.

Sango was standing next to Kirara, her eyes refusing to look upon the hanyou.  Shippo could see her knuckles had gone white from holding the hilt of her katana to hard, and he heard the faint sound of the sobs she was trying to hold back.

Finally, Kagome, who loved Inuyasha as far as Shippo could tell, stood staring.  She wasn't crying, she wasn't sobbing, and she wasn't praying.  She was just staring at Inuyasha with a sad look that nearly broke Shippo's small heart.

Shippo slowly craned his head upwards to see Inuyasha's face.  He was staring back at Kagome with a similar sorrowful look.  He finally turned to meet Shippo's gaze.

"Shippo, I-" Inuyasha was cut off by a small ball of wet fox fur that now frantically clung to his neck, wailing.

"I don't want to you die.  I don't want to be alone again," Shippo cried into the hanyou's neck, refusing to release his grip.

Inuyasha took a deep breath and summoned upon the courage that he was surprised was still there.  He hoped that he could give as much of this courage to the tiny kitsune.  His voice, which up until that point had sounded grainy and injured, regained the same smooth tone it normally had, although this time it had a strikingly paternal quality to it as well.  

"Shippo, I need you to be strong for me right now.  You won't be alone again.  You've got Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Kaede, Kirara…Hell, you've even got Myouga if you need him," Inuyasha smiled at his attempt at humor.  It at least got the kid to stop crying.  "Listen, remember what I told you about my dad and about your dad?"

"Uh-huh," the kitsune responded, finally breaking away enough to look into Inuyasha's eyes.

"Then you know you'll never be alone.  Pretty soon, I'll be right up there to join them…" Inuyasha felt hot tears start to fall from his eyes.

"I'll miss you."

"I know, Shippo.  I'll miss you, too." 

With that, Shippo hopped down from his perch on the hanyou's shoulder.  Kagome came up to both of them and proceeded to bend down and pick Shippo up.

"Kagome, I need to te-" Inuyasha was once again cut off as Kagome suddenly jump up and wrapped one arm around his neck, the other tightly hugging Shippo between the two of them.  Before Inuyasha could react, the girl from the future sealed his lips with hers, effectively sending him into a state of bliss.

The moment ended as soon as it began as Kagome broke the kiss and whispered, "I love you."

"Kagome, I-" for the third time, Inuyasha was interrupted as the horde of demons chose that moment to strike.  A throng of demons burst out of the surrounding forest like a wave along the beach.

"RUN!" Inuyasha screamed.

Kagome stole one last glance at the hanyou before taking Shippo and sprinting to Miroku and Sango who were aboard Kirara.  The cat-demon barely made it off the ground with the three adults and one child before the area they had previously been occupying was flooded with demons.  Inuyasha gazed at their retreating forms before he whispered, "I love you, too."

The inu-hanyou then turned his attention to the demons surrounding him.  Some were eyeing his withdrawing companions, probably hoping to catch and attack them.

_"Can't let that happen."_

He had lied to Miroku.  There was still a way he could protect his friends, and as long as he had a physical body, he would gladly sacrifice it to save them.

"Hey Shit-For-Brains!  Why don't you try taking a bite out of me, ya bastards!  Come on, you afraid of some lowly, beat-up hanyou?  DO. YOUR. WORST!"

The demons turned the attention to the crucified half-demon, who was now flailing violently against his bonds, sending out larger and larger surges of purifying energy that would zap a demon that strayed too close.

Inuyasha passed out right before the demons descended on him.  Mercifully, he did not heel their first slash, or claw, or bite.  Instead, he entered a dark, quiet place knowing that he had saved his friends.  Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Shippo, and Kagome would all be safe now.  He only had to sacrifice himself for their wellbeing, but he'd do it again in a heartbeat.

He was, after all, just a hanyou.

**********

**Hey, quick question, anyone think I should have the next few chapters be a flashback leading up to this, or should I continue on with the next few action sequences while explaining little by little in future chapters?**

**Please Review.**


	2. Just A Hanyou Part 2

**I didn't mention it last time, but _"Words that are italicized and in quotes" _are suppose to be thoughts.  I'm sure most people figured that out anyway.  Also, I've decided to continue on with the current arc the story started with, flashbacks will be slipped in as we go along to give you a better idea of background details.**

**I do not own Inuyasha.**

Just A Hanyou - Part 2

Shippo silently whimpered against Kagome's stomach.  The kitsune cub hadn't let go of her since Kirara had landed.  The neko-demon was exhausted from the flight, having had to carry a heavier load than normal.  Kagome sighed as she stared up at the sky, whose darkness looked like it could hold off the coming dawn for only a few more hours.  They had traveled for nearly two hours before setting down.  Miroku was adamant about putting as much distance between themselves and that horde of demons as possible.  Some of his paranoia could be attributed to Shippo constantly crying out that he still heard the demons howling.

Kagome gently ran her fingers through the kit's hair as she stared into the fire Sango had just set up.  Kagome was worried about Shippo.  He refused to ease his grasp on her for an instant, not even to let her set up her sleeping bag.  She made a note to watch for any more odd behavior from the kit, for it was obvious that Shippo wasn't taking Inuyasha's dea…departure very well.

_"Though it's not like I'm the perfect example of coping, now am I?" she numbly thought to herself.  __"I can't even bring myself to accept that he's…not coming back to us."_

Sango walked over to her and placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"Try to get some sleep, Kagome.  I've set up your sleeping bag for you.  Kirara will keep watch tonight."

Kagome offered her a small smile, "You going to go look for Miroku?"

"Hai," the exterminator replied.  "Do you know which way he went?"

Kagome nodded her head in the direction the monk had set off in not too long ago.  Shippo's grip loosened a bit, indicating he had probably fallen asleep.  As Kagome slipped the sleeping bag around herself and the kitsune, she turned to her friend.

"Sango…"

"Hai?"

"…I miss him."

Sango bent down and kissed Kagome's forehead and tucked the sleeping bag under Kagome's chin.  "I know.  Now try to get some sleep."  With that, the demon exterminator turned and walked into the forest to find the absent monk.  Kagome's eyes began to water as she was suddenly overcome by a memory that had been very similar to what just transpired.

*********

It had been six years ago when Kagome was 11.  It was raining one night when Sota, who was 5 at the time, came into her room and woke her up.

"Kagome," her little brother whispered, "I had a bad dream."

"Hmm, try to go back to sleep," she mumbled, obviously still half-asleep.

"It was about Papa."

Kagome's breath caught in her throat as she finally sat up to look at her brother.  Their father had been killed a little over 9 months ago when an oncoming car had lost control in the rain and swerved into his lane.  Kagome didn't like to talk about it much, but she knew Sota had nightmares about it whenever it rained at night.

"Come on, Sota," she said getting up, "I'll go tuck you back in."

As Sota had slipped back under his covers, he turned to look at his sister. 

"Kagome, I miss my Papa."

Kagome finished tucking him in as she placed a kiss on his forehead.  "I know, Sota.  I miss him, too.  Now try and go back to sleep."

"Goodnight, Kagome."

"Goodnight," she whispered as she continued to watch him.  When she was certain he was asleep, she crept back into her room and cried.

**********

_"Sota needed me to be strong back then, probably like Shippo will need me to be strong now," Kagome thought to herself as she suddenly realized how tired she was.  _"Inuyasha would want me to be strong; he would expect me to be strong for Shippo.__

_Oh Inuyasha, please be alright, please come back to __me.__"  With that, the girl from the future finally succumbed to a dreamless sleep._

**********

Sango ducked underneath a low-hanging branch as she came up behind a kneeling Miroku.  She cleared her throat rather loudly to announce her presence.

"Yes Sango?"

"I came to find where you wandered off too, Houshi-sama, and to tell you that I finally got Kagome to try to sleep," Sango yawned as she sat down and drew her knees against her chest.

Miroku turned his body to face Sango and chuckled as he rubbed his tired eyes.  "I think sleep is something we could all use now.  You should try and get some rest, I shall stand watch."

"Thank you, but there is no need.  Kirara seems to have taken it upon herself to protect us tonight," Sango responded, this time successfully stifling the yawn that tried to escape her mouth.

"No doubt she realizes the dangers we face now that Inuyasha is no longer with us," the monk observed, turning back to his original position.

"Hai, no doubt."

Sango took this opportunity to study the monk before her.  She heard slight mumbling and noticed the position he sat in was similar to that when he meditated.  Though she was fairly certain what he was doing, she was uncomfortable with the silence that now fell upon them.  "What are you doing, Houshi-sama?"

Miroku hesitated, seemingly torn between remaining still and turning to face her.  He finally settled on staying motionless.  "I am praying for Inuyasha's soul to find peace," the monk responded in a slightly uneven voice.

"Stop it," Sango whispered, but Miroku could sense the venom in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Sango, but I do not understand what you are asking me to stop doing," Miroku replied, this time turning to face Sango.  She was now leaning against a tree, her arms tightly crossed in front of her chest.  She refused to meet his gaze as she continued to stare at the ground.  She looked tired, so very tired…

"Stop talking like he's already dead," she said, now glancing up to meet Miroku's stare.

It was Miroku's turn to shift his eyes to the ground.  "I realize your upset, Sango, we all are.  But…but we have to accept that Inuyasha has most likely passed on.  There were just too many demons, and he…he was already weakened a great deal," Miroku paused to compose himself.

"We don't know that though!" her voice cracked as stray tears began to appear on her cheeks.  "And even if he is dead, there has to be a way to bring him back!  Dead doesn't mean dead anymore, Houshi-sama!  Look at Kikyo, or…or…" Sango suddenly stopped short.

_"Or Kohaku," Miroku thought sadly.  He moved to sit next to Sango.  As he wrapped an arm around her back, he turned his gaze to the night sky that was partially visible through the tree tops.  "I think," he paused, hoping that he could word this correctly, "that Inuyasha knew what was going to happen when the demons attacked."_

"We shouldn't have abandoned him," Sango spat, seemingly more angry at herself now than the monk.  "He wouldn't have abandoned one of us."

Miroku nodded his head.  He too had been unhappy to leave his friend to the demons' wrath, but he had been unable to argue with the look of desperation on the hanyou's face.  "I think he knew he was going to die in that field, one way or another.  He made the decision to protect us until the end."

Another silence fell upon the two until Sango did something that surprised the monk.  She placed her head on his shoulder.  "I'm tired of all of this," she whispered.  "I'm tired of losing my friends, Miroku, tired of losing my family.  All the good we've done up until this point, it seems so meaningless now.  I feel like everything is just so hopeless."

"We cannot lose hope, Sango.  Inuyasha never lost hope; he couldn't have survived the life he's lived if he had.  Shippo has lost his parents, but not his hope.  And I, Sango," he turned to gaze at her with a fire in his eye, "I have not lost hope.  Even with this accursed wind-tunnel threatening to swallow me up, I haven't lost hope for the future."

Sango blushed under his stare.  Miroku seemed a bit different to her.  He was more passionate, rawer, less composed.  She realized that she was no longer talking to Miroku the monk; instead, she was talking to Miroku the person.  He seemed to have hidden this more emotional side of himself from everyone.  "I'm sorry, Miroku, you are right"

She paused for an instant before turning her neck to face him.  "Thank you for being so understanding."  With that she lifted her face to place a kiss on his cheek.  Miroku, however, chose this exact moment to turn his head towards Sango.  Before the demon exterminator realized it, she had sealed the monk's lips with her own.

Sango snapped her head back as her eyes grew wide and a deep blush spread across her cheeks.  She stared at the monk who now wore a large smile plastered on his face.

"You're very welcome, my dear Sango.  And if the need arises later on tonight, just know that I could be much more_ understanding_," Miroku winked at her as the arm that was still around Sango's waste moved lower to give the taijiya's rear enda playful squeeze. 

"Do that again, Houshi-sama, and I will break one of your ribs," Sango threatened as she got up and started to head back to camp.

"But Sango-chan," Miroku piped up, the lecherous smirk evident on his face just by the sound of his voice.

"Hai, Houshi-sama?" Sango replied, turning to face the still-seated monk.

"I have many ribs, what do I care if one is broken?"

Sango shook her head as a light blush returned to her cheeks.  She then slightly chuckled and turned back towards camp.

_"Thank you, Miroku," she thought as she made her way to the campfire._

Miroku again kneeled down and, as if reading her mind, whispered, "You're welcome, Sango," before he continued his praying.

**********

Shippo awoke from his restless slumber to the sounds of Miroku settling down against a tree.  The kitsune waited until he heard the monk's breathing even out, indicating he was asleep.  It was a trick Inuyasha had taught him right before the hanyou had been captured.  Shippo slowly eased himself out of Kagome's sleeping bag, careful not to wake her.  Once he was free, he expanded his sense of smell and hearing to identify where everyone was, another lesson courtesy of the hanyou.

Kagome was still asleep in her sleeping bag.  Miroku was slumbering while leaned up against a tree.  Sango was resting on a fully transformed Kirara, who was staring at Shippo from across the fire.  Shippo offered a small smile which seemed to appease the fire-cat's worries.  The kitsune then tiptoed over to Kagome's over-stuffed yellow backpack.  

He silently unzipped the main compartment and reached his tiny hands in to grasp the fire-rat haori he knew was on the top.  When Inuyasha had been captured and taken away, Miroku and Sango had found the trembling kitsune wrapped in the red jacket.  Inuyasha had used it to protect him, again.  And Inuyasha had ended up getting hurt because he was protecting Shippo, again.

_"Weak baka!  I should have been able to help him.  But no, I'm so stupid and weak that I just get in the way," the kitsune cub berated himself as he slowly climbed to a low hanging branch of a nearby tree._  "Inuyasha wouldn't have gotten captured if it wasn't for me.  He could have taken those demons out easily if they hadn't caught me first…"__

Shippo plopped himself down on the branch and wrapped the fire-rat haori around his tiny body, its giant arms hanging off the tree limb.  From where he was sitting, he had a fairly unobstructed view of the starry sky.

_"Inuyasha said he was gonna join up with my dad and his dad to watch over me. I wonder if he's already there…" the kitsune thought as he snuggled deeper into the haori, taking comfort in the scent of the absent hanyou.  He slowly drifted back to a much happier sleep, one that took him back to a happier time._

**********

Lightning flashed across the sky again as a clap of thunder echoed through the land.  Shippo huddled closer to the base of the giant Goshinboku.  Kagome had left for her time earlier that day; she had to take what she called a 'final exam.'  Amazingly, Inuyasha didn't put up any fuss over her leaving, which shocked both Kagome and Shippo.  Before Kagome jumped through the well, she had turned back towards the passive hanyou.

"Are you sure you're not going to say anything?" she had asked, her voice a mix between hope and disbelief.

"Take all the time you need, Kagome.  If we need you in this time for some reason, I'll come and get you," the half-demon replied, seemingly more interested in the yellow-jacket that was buzzing around his face.

"Oh."  After that, Kagome jumped down the well, but Shippo had seen a look of hurt on her face.

So here Shippo was, trapped underneath the humongous God-Tree, wet and alone.  Well, Inuyasha WAS in one of the branches above him, but he didn't count.  Miroku and Sango had left the day before, having taken Kirara with them to travel to some nearby villages and scout out any shard rumors.  With his favorite playmate absent, the kitsune cub had settled on annoying the combustible hanyou for entertainment.  However, Shippo hadn't counted on two things.  The first was that Inuyasha was just as indifferent to his annoying antics as he was to Kagome's leaving.  The second was for a massive thunderstorm to hit, quickly and without warning, while Shippo was still with Inuyasha.

Demons are usually able to pick up a change in the electrical charges that are in the air, thus alerting them to oncoming inclement weather.  So whenever Shippo noticed a thunderstorm coming, he made sure he was always indoors or clinging to Kagome.  He knew it was silly to be afraid of thunder; he was a demon after all.  But still…

_"This is stupid.  I'm a DEMON, gosh darn it! I shouldn't be trapped here just cause some silly thunder.   I'll just head over to Kaede's hut and spend the night there.  Yeah, that's what I'll d-"_

A rather loud crash of thunder sent the tiny kit up the Goshinboku and into Inuyasha's outer haori.

"What the hell?" snarled the hanyou, peaking under his jacket only to be met by two blue eyes.  "Get the hell out of there!"  Inuyasha reached in and pulled Shippo out by his tail.  The half-demon continued holding the kit by the tail, bringing him up to eye-level.  "Explain."

"I got lost?" the kitsune decided to try to humor with the inu-youkai.  Though, one considerably violent shake told Shippo that Inuyasha wasn't in the mood for humor.

"I…um…well you see, I-" another crack of thunder caused Shippo to visibly flinch.  Once the sound died away, his entire body drooped in the hanyou's hand.  "I'm afraid of thunder."

"Afraid of thunder?" Inuyasha echoed.  "Why the hell are you-oh…"  The dawning realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

_"His parents were killed by elemental demons, you moron!  They were called the damn THUNDER Brothers for fuck's sake."_

Inuyasha lowered Shippo so the kitsune was sitting on the hanyou's knee.  "You gonna be OK, kid?"

"Yeah, it's just that usually Kagome is here or I'm already inside when it starts to-" yet another thunder clap caused the kit to pause, but he resisted the urge to jump back in Inuyasha's haori.

However, the hanyou saw the visibly shaken kitsune and made a decision.  Inuyasha picked Shippo up and stuffed him in his jacket, surprising the young demon.  The hanyou then proceeded to leap from his branch of the God-Tree.  He kept leaping from treetop to treetop, heading towards the outskirts of the forest.  Meanwhile, inside the haori, Shippo was clutching to Inuyasha's chest as the hanyou tore through the forest canopy at high speeds.  Shippo could hear the inu-hanyou's heart rate rise slightly due to the exertion.

Finally, Inuyasha came to a stop, and Shippo poked his head out from the haori.  The hanyou had taken them to a mountain top, just outside his forest.  As he leaned farther out to see below them, Shippo was amazed to see some of the lower hanging rain clouds actually _beneath _them from this vantage point.  The observation brought about some slight vertigo, causing the kitsune to tumble out of the haori.  Luckily, Inuyasha caught him before he hit the ground.

The hanyou placed the kit on his shoulder but continued to stare down into the forest.  

"Shippo, did your father ever growl at you?"

Shippo thought about it.  "Yeah, sometimes he would."

"Was he angry when he did it?"

Shippo thought some more.  "Sometimes, when I was being bad.  But other times, he'd do it when he was happy."

Inuyasha looked deep in thought before turning his face to the cloudy sky.  "When I was young, my Haha-ue told me that the sound of thunder was my father growling down at me from up in the sky."

"Oh," Shippo responded.  He strained his ears to hear the remnants of a thunder clap.  From up here, the thunder DID sound more like growling than…well, thunder.

"She said it was his way of telling me to be good.  She also told me that when it rained," Inuyasha paused to sniff at Shippo, "it was his way of telling me I needed to take a bath."

"Hey!  I took a bath yesterday with Kagome!" the kitsune yelled indignantly, trying to defend his own personal hygiene.

"Yeah, but then you spilt that jar of cinnamon all over you later at Kaede's," the hanyou replied, smiling up at the kitsune cub on his shoulder, "and you now how strong I think that stuff is!"

Shippo giggled, remembering when Inuyasha had actually stuck his nose into a large jar of cinnamon to confirm that it was the correct spice.  "You were knocked out for an hour!  Kagome was too worried to be angry at you!"

"Hmph, yeah…Come on, let's go get that stink off you," Inuyasha snorted before turning to walk down the mountain.

"Hey, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah twerp?"

"Do you think my dad is up in the sky with you dad?"

"Yeah, Shippo.  I think he is."

"You think your dad is still watching over you?"

Inuyasha paused and stuck out his chest a little bit, "Nah, he doesn't have to since I'm all grown up.  But I bet he's helping your dad watch over you."

"Really?"

"Yeah kid.   But their job is pretty easy, 'cause they know I'm down here, already protecting you."  Inuyasha pointed his thumb at his chest before continuing to walk down the mountain.

Shippo thought a little about what Inuyasha had said.  He figured his dad would have approved of how the hanyou was protecting him and practically raising him.  Shippo smiled to himself on Inuyasha's shoulder before whispering, "Thanks, Inu-Papa."

One of the hanyou's ears swiveled to face Shippo and Inuyasha nodded to confirm that he had heard the kitsune.  A small smile played on his lips while a slight blush spread across his cheeks as he mumbled under his breath, "If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you."

**********

**Good? Bad?  Should I stick to writing what I do best (i.e. lots of heart-wrenching angst), or am I allowed to throw in some happier scenes?**

**For all those who reviewed, thank you for your encouragement, but unfortunately I don't have time to reply to your reviews at this time.  I would rather get this chapter posted and respond in the next chapter.**

**Alright, I've gotta skedaddle, keep reading.**


	3. Just A Hanyou Part 3

**Sorry this took a little longer to update than the other one had.  This chapter is my first attempt to get the plot rolling (couldn't have everyone just sit around and be sad forever, now could I?).**

**I do not own Inuyasha.  **

Just A Hanyou – Part 3

Sunlight filtered through the green treetops and into Kagome's closed eyes.  She stubbornly turned her face from the offending light, desperate to delay her inevitable awakening for a few more minutes.  The sound of metal rings jingling against a staff caused her to roll over and open her eyes, facing the monk who had just approached her.

"Good, you're up.  I was just about to wake you," Miroku offered with a small smile as Kagome blinked the last few bits of sleep from her eyes. 

"I hope you weren't planning on waking her up in a way that would be unbecoming of a monk, Houshi-sama," Sango said as she walked up from behind Miroku.

"You're lack of faith in my good intentions is disheartening, Sango," he replied while feigning a look of hurt.  

_"Everything seems like its normal, but it's not, is it?  It wasn't all just some horrible dream.  Inuyasha is really gone," Kagome thought as she turned her attention from the two in front of her so that she could find Shippo, whom she had noticed was not in her sleeping bag._

_"He must already be awake," she though as she sat up. Searching the campgrounds with her eyes, however, she was unable to spot the tiny kitsune._

She looked over at the pot that was suspended above the camp fire, thinking it was most likely cooking their breakfast, before absently calling out, "Hey, do you two know where Shippo is?"

"I believe he is still sleeping in that tree over there," Sango indicated with a nod, a light blush appearing on her cheeks as she did so.  Just before Kagome's question, Miroku had whispered to the exterminator that he hoped the two of them could practice some more "understanding" together.  

_"In a tree?" Kagome thought as her eyes scanned the lower hanging branches.  Her breath caught in her throat for a moment when she suddenly spied the familiar red haori lounging on one of the tree limbs.  As much as she wanted to believe otherwise, common sense told her it was only Shippo._

"Since when has Shippo slept in trees?" she questioned, still staring at the tiny form wrapped in the fire-rat jacket.

"It started a few weeks back.  Whenever you went back to your time, he would sleep on one of the Goshinboku's branches near Inuyasha," Miroku answered, smiling at the memory of how embarrassed the hanyou had been after the monk discovered Inuyasha trying unsuccessfully to sing some sort of lullaby to the tiny kit one night.  Luckily for Inuyasha's tough-guy image, Miroku's silence had been bought with some girl magazines the hanyou had "borrowed" from Kagome.

"Maybe we'll let him sleep a little longer," Kagome stated as she began to roll up her sleeping bag.

"Hai, that sounds like a good idea.  It's been…a tough couple days for him," Sango agreed, giving Miroku a look that said 'It's now or never.'

The monk nodded his head and cleared his throat.  "Kagome, Sango and I have discussed it, and we feel-" he paused as she turned her eyes to him.  Miroku noted how tired she still seemed before clearing his throat again and continuing, "We feel it'd be best if we went back and found Inuyasha's…um, his, uh…if we found Inuyasha, so that we could perform a proper ceremony."

As Miroku talked, Kagome paused from rolling up her sleeping bag; her hands now gripping the soft fabric tightly.  There was an awkward silence between the three of them as the monk and demon exterminator waited for the young miko's reaction.

"Hai, Miroku, I….I agree."

Sango let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.  "Then I think it would be wise for us not to be caught there after dark.  A great number of youkai were there last night."

"Good point, so we'll leave as soon as we finish eating," Miroku said as he pulled out a stack of plates from Kagome's giant backpack.  The fish that Kirara had caught at a nearby stream earlier that morning would be a good enough meal to travel on.  With any luck, they would reach their destination a little after noon.

"Leave for where?" a voice that came from above asked them.  All three turned their heads to the small kitsune who had just crawled out of the fire-rat haori.  Shippo was furiously scratching behind his ear with his tiny paw as he jumped down from the tree limb, the haori in tow.  Kagome smiled as the red jacket fully enveloped the young kit once he landed on the ground.

"We're going back to the meadow we were at last night, Shippo," the miko explained as Shippo poked his head again out of the haori

"Oh," was his only response.  A look of recognition suddenly flashed across his face as he grabbed behind his ear and yanked hard, pulling out some stray hairs as well as an engorged flea.  "I thought I smelled you, Myouga."

"My apologies, young Shippo, but I was in great need of sustenance after my long journey," the old demon replied as he bowed to Shippo, who now held the flea in the palm of his hand.

"We haven't heard from you in a long time, Myouga, where have you been?" Miroku asked as he walked up and bent down in front of Shippo.

"Not in a pleasant place, believe me.  But for the last week, I have been searching for all of you.  I had hoped to find you in Lady Kaede's village.  However, when I arrived, I was told you had all left the previous day.  I am very relieved to have finally found you so that I might warn you all."

"Warn us of what?" asked Sango as she knelt down beside Miroku.

"Before I answer that question, Lady Sango, I wish to first speak to Lord Inuyasha, as this affects him a great deal," Myouga answered before noting the sudden sadness and uneasiness that covered the group around him like a heavy blanket.

Miroku noticed Shippo's shaking hand before putting forth his own, the prayer beads wrapped tightly around it.  The kitsune deposited the flea demon into the outstretched hand before running over into Kagome's embrace.  

Myouga took the scene in from his new vantage point with a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Inuyasha was captured almost two weeks ago, Myouga," Sango informed him, glancing back and forth between the flea and the young woman and kitsune.

Myouga's face fell and his shoulders slumped, a wave of sadness washing over his entire body.  "Then it is already too late."

"More so than you think," Miroku began in a voice that sounded more tired than he looked.  "We…we found him last night, in a field.  He had been crucified."

A muffled sob was heard behind them.  Without turning, Miroku guessed the sob belonged to Shippo.

"I see.  Is he…has he already passed on?" Myouga asked as he sat on one of the prayer beads around Miroku's hand.

Another sob was heard, this time clearly Kagome, who at that time decided to take Shippo and leave the campsite as well as the conversation.  Sango looked over at Miroku and Myouga before standing up, "I'll go follow her and make sure she's alright."

Miroku nodded and then turned back to the flea.  "To answer you question, yes, Inuyasha sacrificed himself to a horde of demons in order for us to escape."

Myouga sighed and looked down at the monk's hand.  He rubbed at his eyes, wiping away the tiny tears that threatened to spill.  Kneeling there, Miroku realized for the first time how long Myouga must have known their recently deceased friend.  From the stories that Myouga had told them of a young Inuyasha, Miroku guessed that not a day had gone by in the hanyou's life that he had not known Myouga the flea.

For the second time in as many days, Miroku did not know what to say.  "I'm…I'm sorry, Myouga.  I realize how long you had known him."

"Hai, it's…it'll be okay," the flea stated as he stood up from the prayer bead.  "I just wish…I could have prevented it, could have warned him."

"Please, Myouga, tell me what happened to Inuyasha.  All of us are confused why someone would take the time to do that to him," Miroku pleaded as he sat down, the flea demon still in his hand.

"Hai, alright," Myouga said with a sigh before telling Miroku the tale of how Inuyasha had had a bounty placed upon his head from the moment he was born.

He was, after all, just a hanyou.

**********

Kagome sat on a log as she tried to calm the sobbing kitsune.  Rubbing the back of his head, she quietly whispered in his ear.  "It's okay Shippo.  Everything is going to be okay."  _"I hope."_

Shippo was able to gain some control over himself as he stared at the ground in Kagome's arms.  "It's all my fault, Kagome.  It's my fault he got captured and…and…" another sob burst from the young fox demon's mouth as he buried his face in Kagome's shirt.

"Shippo, you can't blame yourself like that.  You didn't do anything wrong," she cooed in his ear, hoping to assure him.

"I-I got angry at him when he let you leave," the kit said in a meek voice, the last bout of sobs now subsiding.  "Then I ran off and that's when all the demons attacked me.  He…he got captured cause he was trying to save me."

Kagome sat in silence for a moment.  She hadn't really known the details behind Inuyasha's capture.  Miroku and Sango tried to avoid talking about it; probably because they feared Shippo would blame himself.  

_"Inuyasha was captured right after our huge fight," Kagome thought as more of what Shippo told her sunk into her head.  She clutched Shippo all the tighter as the memories from that day at the Bone-Eaters well came rushing back to her._

**********

Kagome had had it!  Inuyasha had once again abruptly left Kaede's village to "take care of a few things" in the forest, alone.

_"'Take care of a few things' my ass!" Kagome thought as she walked angrily to the well.  __"It's more like he wanted to spend some time with his precious Kikyo__!"_

Kagome had once again stumbled upon them, having ignored Inuyasha's comment that what he was going to do in the forest was none of her business.

_"If he so much as tries to stop me from leaving, I'm going to 'sit' him into oblivion!"_

"Kagome," a familiar, and expected, voice called from behind her.

"Sit."

"Shit!"

The louder-than-normal crash indicated he might have been in mid-leap when she used the subduing spell.  _"Good."_

"Damn it, wench!" Inuyasha snarled as he shook the last remnants of numbness from his legs, a side-effect that always happened after he crashed to the ground.  _"She's pretty pissed off,"_ he thought as he continued after her, this time avoiding taking to the air.

"Kagome, listen to me!" he yelled as he almost caught up to her.

"Sit."

"Shit!" he snarled again as he crashed to the ground right behind Kagome.  He once again shook off the last bits of the subduing spell before pushing himself off the ground.  They had finally reached the well.  Kagome only stood there facing it before she finally turned around to face the hanyou.

"You're not leaving, Kagome," Inuyasha said as he crossed his arms and turned his face to the side, avoiding her gaze that was a mixture of hurt and anger.

"Why the hell not, Inuyasha?" she replied in a livid tone.  He snapped his head to face her, surprise written over his face at her colorful use of language.

"Why do you even want me here?  Can you actually tell me that?" she continued as a tiny tear found its way down her cheek.

Inuyasha did not like where this conversation was going.  She had never been so direct when questioning him before.  The look in her eyes, however, told him to not even think about mentioning the words 'shard detector.'

"I'm serious, Inuyasha.  Give me a reason for why you always want me here beside you," Kagome pressed on, the look of anger in her eyes giving way to a pleading one.  "Please, tell me why."

"I-" Inuyasha began before closing his eyes and looking to the side again, a sigh of defeat escaping his lips.

 Kagome bowed her head in sad understanding.  "I thought so," she whispered before turning back to the well.

Suddenly, a small ball of brown and orange fur burst from a nearby bush and bounded over to Kagome.  Shippo latched onto Kagome's shirt, refusing to let go.

"Don't leave, Kagome!" he yelled before turning and pointing a tiny claw at Inuyasha.  "And don't listen to him.  He wants you to stay here as much as I do!"

Kagome glanced up from Shippo and at the hanyou, who now wore his own pleading look.  She slowly walked up to him and handed him the kitsune.

"I'm sorry, Shippo," she said, taking a step back, "but Inuyasha already made his decision; I can't stay here."

"Why the hell not?" Inuyasha finally asked, echoing her earlier question.   

The indignation behind those words cut at Kagome.  It was as if he didn't realize what he was doing to her every time he ran off to meet Kikyo.  It was as if he really didn't know how much he meant to her.

"Inuyasha," she began, hoping her next words might sting him as much as his had her, "have you ever stopped to wonder whether I was happy here?  Or that maybe I might be happier in my own time?  With people like me?"

The meaning behind her words hit Inuyasha hard.  His ear drooped as his eyes closed and his head bowed.  The hand that wasn't holding Shippo clenched into a fist, his claws drawing blood from his palms.    

With Shippo still in hand, Inuyasha turned and began walking away from the well and into the forest.  Shippo took one last look over the hanyou's shoulder as the girl from 500 years in the future disappeared over the well's lip, maybe gone forever.

**********

Kagome was broken out of her thoughts by hand gently shaking her shoulder.  She looked up at Sango, who now held a napping Shippo.

"Are you going to be alright, Kagome?" the demon exterminator asked.

Kagome rubbed at her eyes which had become red from some crying she didn't even realized she had done.  "Hai, Sango.  I was…I was just remembering."

Sango nodded her head in understanding.  "Come on, then, let's get back to camp.  We'll need to leave soon if we want to make it to that meadow before nightfall."

Sango helped Kagome up and the two began to walk back to camp, an untransformed Kirara walking in front of them.

**********

Miroku turned towards Kagome and Sango as they entered the campsite.  He gave Sango a look which asked 'Is everything alright?'

Sango replied with a small smile and nod before asking, "Are we ready to go?"

"Hai, soon," Miroku responded, "but I think that first the two of you should hear what Myouga has told me regarding the 'who' and 'why' behind all that has happened."

Both girls nodded as they sat down and took the fish that Miroku offered them.  Myouga jumped from his place on Miroku's shoulder and landed on the monk's knee, facing the two human females and the slumbering kit.  Kirara padded over to the group and lay down in front of Kagome, who now absently petted the fire-kitten's head.

"I think it is best to start off at the beginning," Myouga explained as he settled down on the monk's knee.  

"Over one hundred years ago, Inu-taishou, Lord Inuyasha's father, took a human woman for a mate.  The woman was Inuyasha's mother, and a year afterwards, Inuyasha was born," the flea said matter-of-factly.

"The uproar among demons that surrounded a taiyoukai taking a human mate only intensified when their hanyou child was born.  The other taiyoukai were furious and wanted the child destroyed.

The most adamant of the Great Demons was Kuma-shiro, the White Bear of the Northern Lands.  He called for the remaining taiyoukai to help him exterminate the young hanyou, as is the way most demons act when they encounter a half-breed.  

Inu-taishou knew that he could not protect his son forever; the hatred towards hanyous was far too great for the other taiyoukai to ignore.  However, he did convince the others to wait one hundred years, until Inuyasha would be able to defend himself," Myouga informed the group as he looked from Sango to Kagome.

"So the taiyoukai are the ones who captured Inuyasha?" Sango asked, still unclear on some of the details surrounding the hanyou's death.

"Hai, in a way," Myouga answered.  "Two weeks ago marked the one hundredth anniversary of the agreement between Inu-taishou and the other taiyoukai.  A meeting was called to order by Kuma-Shiro to determine Lord Inuyasha's fate.  All the Great Demons were there, including Inuyasha's half-brother, Sesshomaru."

"Why wasn't Inuyasha there?  Isn't he considered a Great Demon?" Kagome asked.  Myouga's story was starting to become frighteningly clear.  Inuyasha had been hunted and killed for no better reason than being a hanyou.

"Technically speaking, yes, he is one of the Great Demons of the Western Lands.  However, the other taiyoukai were just as unwilling to acknowledge that as Sesshomaru is.  Kuma-shiro, most of all, hated Lord Inuyasha for his human lineage.  In the decades since Inu-taishou's death, Kuma-shiro has become the dominant taiyoukai.  It was easy for him to convince the others to sentence Inuyasha to death," Myouga explained.   

"Did Sesshomaru do nothing to defend his brother, Myouga?" Sango asked.

"He…convinced them to give Inuyasha three weeks notice.  I was to inform my master by then, but…"

"But what?" Kagome asked again.

Myouga's shoulders slumped as a look of hatred crossed his tiny face.  "Kuma-shiro kept me imprisoned after the meeting.  He promised to release me in a week's time, to see just how quickly I could find and warn Inuyasha.  I knew Inuyasha would need to know of the danger that was now after him as soon as possible, but…I was too afraid to risk an escape."

Myouga paused to compose himself.  "He released me a week later, as promised, and I held out hope that I could still reach my lord in time.  However, it seems that Kuma-shiro had no intention of following the Great Demons' decision and has already finished what he set out to do a century ago."

Miroku finally spoke up as Myouga motioned that he was finished.  "Myouga says that we are now in Kuma-shiro's territory.  About a day's journey to the south are the Western Lands."

"What should we do now, then?" Sango asked as she stood up and stretched.

"I propose we follow through with our plan to retrieve Inuyasha's body," Miroku responded, also standing up.  Myouga hoped over to rest on Kirara's head as the monk continued.  "However, Myouga has informed me that Kuma-shiro rules these lands through fear and aggression.  We best be on our guard."

Kagome nodded as she stood up and took the slumbering Shippo from Sango's arms.  "Hai," she said, "let's get going then."

**********

**I had a little trouble getting this chapter started because I didn't know where I wanted the story to really go.  However, now I have a clear picture in my head and am already starting on Chapter 4.**

**Authors note: kuma = bear; shiro = white; Kuma-shiro = White Bear**

**Extra points for anyone who guesses what type of youkai he is…**

**Oh yeah, taiyoukai = head/great demon.  So Inu-taishou means Great Dog Demon.**

**Now onto the review responses for Chapters 1 & 2:**

**Gigi-chan****: Thanks for the kind words.  You were the first to review my first story.  I hope the story has gotten a little happier since the first chapter.  Granted, I still have some loads of angst in store, I also have some happier scenes as well.**

**E. Marie: As you can see, I've decided to continue with the current progression of the story while cleverly throwing in flashbacks every now and then (like in this chapter).  I'm hoping the story gets even better because I have some ideas in store that aren't very common to the Inuyasha genre (at least not from what I've seen).  Keep reading.**

**Kurayami**** no Kakikishoku: Wow.  After reading your review, I had to rethink the idea that Inuyasha might have survived the demons' attacks. You're right; I'd have to be pretty naïve to believe he could.  However, I think I came up with an even better idea for a story that I don't think has been done before in the Inuyasha genre.  Lets wait and see, but I hope you'll be able to read this story again soon.**

**Dark Mimiru:  Too late, I've already decided to continue with the story as is.  However, like you have already read, flashbacks will be slipped in to give you an idea of what the hell happened before Chapter 1.**

**Crispy muffin:  Don't worry; I won't leave anyone hanging much longer on the fate of Inu.  By the way, I plan on making this a pretty long story, so no fear of me leaving everyone with an abrupt and unsatisfying ending.  Unfortunately for you, just because I'm moving the story along doesn't mean I don't have tons more angst to write.**

**Ehtne****: Like I said before, I hope the story has gotten a bit happier.  The flashbacks are indeed just flashbacks which will be used to fill in any cracks in the story (there are a lot of them, aren't they?).  I wouldn't count out a non-flashback appearance by our favorite hanyou sooner or later, though.  A shiny dollar, you say?**

** Sorrow:  Hey, the guy's got an image to keep.  **

**Silverinudogdemond****: Score, I'm perfect.**

**Remember, please review!**


	4. Just A Hanyou Part 4

**I am sorry about how long this took to update.  Thanks to anyone who was willing to put up with the wait; your infinite patience is a lesson to us all.  By the way, someone sent me an e-mail recently asking when I would continue the story.  I'd like to thank them for helping me get my rear in gear, but I didn't save their e-mail.  So whoever you are, thanks. **

**Anyway, enjoy.**

**I do not own Inuyasha.**

Just A Hanyou – Part 4

Sango felt awkward as she walked ten yards in front of the rest of her companions.  Taking the "point" position of a traveling party was nothing new to her; she had done it numerous times in the past during youkai exterminations.  However, since she had joined up with this rag-tag group of adventurers, the need had never arisen.  Inuyasha was always more than willing to distance himself ahead from the others, scouting the terrain for any possible dangers.

_"I bet he was still able to hear our conversations from here, though," she thought as she could make out some of the idle chit-chat Miroku and Kagome were currently engaged in.  _

They had been traveling for over two hours through the forest.  Shippo had awoken from his nap shortly after they had left and was now perched on Kagome's shoulder.  Miroku, though hampered by the extra weight of Kagome's backpack, was able to keep stride alongside the girl.  Nevertheless, he looked quite winded.

"I think we can take a short break here," Sango announced, looking back.  Miroku gave a very relieved sigh as he quickly and unceremoniously dropped the yellow book bag.  The loud thud that resounded caused Kagome to lightly blush.

"Gomen, Miroku, I should really learn to travel lighter."

"No worries, Lady Kagome," Miroku said with a small smile as he sat back in the shade of a tree, "a young man as fit and handsome as myself has no problem carrying such a-"

He was cut off as a half-empty water canteen hit him in the face.  Miroku turned to face a now smirking Sango.

"I fail to see why you being handsome would have anything to do with carrying Kagome's bag, Houshi-sama," she said as she took a drink from her own canteen.

It was Miroku's turn to smirk as he raised one eyebrow and responded, "Dear Sango, the mere fact that you would call me handsome fills me with so much joy that I now have the strength of ten men!"

Sango's face reddened before she stood up.

"If you're rested enough to joke, you're rested enough to continue on our journey, _Houshi-sama," she stressed the last word out, her posture making it clear to the monk that she was slightly cross at falling so easily for his trap._

"You and your big mouth, Miroku," Shippo commented, hopping back on Kagome's shoulder as the girl stood up.

"My apologies, Shippo," Miroku responded as he lifted to backpack once more, "I was unaware that you were so tired after being carried by Lady Kagome for the entire journey."

Shippo crossed his arms and turned his head to the side, eyes closed.

"Feh."

Kagome had to stifle a laugh, although it still came out as a rather loud snort, after hearing what the kitsune had just said.  Obviously, Shippo had been hanging out with Inuyasha more than she had originally thought.

********************

"Damn it, Shippo, get back here!" Inuyasha yelled ahead of him, hoping his commanding tone would bring the kitsune out of hiding.  _"Come on, kid, don't you do this to me too."_

 "How could you let her leave!?" a voice called back ahead of him.  Inuyasha momentarily winced at the accusing tone the brat had taken.

Steeling himself, Inuyasha answered the invisible kit's question.  "You heard her; she doesn't want anything to do with me."  Though he tried to sound unaffected by what Kagome had said, Inuyasha was in fact very upset about it.  

Shippo suddenly dropped in front of Inuyasha, staring up at the hanyou with a disbelieving face.  "Are you really that thickheaded?  Don't you know that she didn't mean it, stupid!"

"Hey!  Stop with the name calling, twerp!" Inuyasha said as he crouched down and playfully knocked Shippo on the head.  In the past few weeks, Inuyasha found he wasn't able to really pound on the kit.  Not that Shippo had been behaving himself, far from it actually.  Inuyasha just couldn't bring himself to hurt the young fox…too badly.

Shippo smiled at Inuyasha's own name-calling as he dug his tiny claws into the hand the hanyou had left on top of his head.  "You gotta apologize, you know."

Inuyasha's face suddenly went grim as he sighed.  

"You are gonna go get her and apologize, right?" Shippo pressed again, suddenly not liking where this was inevitably going.

Finally, Inuyasha's face contorted into an angry scowl.  "What's the fucking point, huh?  You heard her with your own damn ears.  She doesn't want to be with a hanyou, Shippo," Inuyasha started in righteous anger before quieting down.  "No one does."

The kitsune abruptly jumped back in frustration, his patience with the dog demon's thick head having run dry.  "I can't believe how blind you are, Inuyasha!"  Shippo then drew a leaf from inside his shirt and threw it to the ground, producing a thick cloud of gray smoke that effectively concealed the entire area around the two demons.

Once the smoke had finally dissipated, Inuyasha was able to observe two things.  First, Shippo had decided to end their discussion by exiting the clearing they were in.  Second, the brat had left one of his immovable statues right on top of the hanyou's hand!

"Shippo!  Get back here and take this damn thing off!" the Inu-hanyou bellowed as he futilely tugged at his trapped hand.

"Not until you've come to your senses," a fleeting voice in the trees called back.  "We _both_ need Kagome here, Inu-papa.  I'll come back when you're ready to go get her."

Inuyasha let off a low growl that built into a savage snarl.  With no other choice, he started punching at the stone statue, hoping to somehow break the kit's magic.  _"Yeah, good luck with that."_

********** (still part of the flashback, just a little later on)

Shippo sat lounging on one of the Goshinboku's limbs, totally exacerbated with Inuyasha's stubbornness.  "Why can't he just make her happy?" the kitsune asked himself.  "Then she would be his mate and we could all be a family."

Shippo had been thinking about this subject matter a lot in the past week or two, ever since Inuyasha had started acting more like a parent than an annoying _younger brother.  Now, though, the hanyou had been acting very fatherly to the kitsune, even going as far as letting the kit sleep on his chest like Shippo's own father had once done._

"If he would just admit he loves her, Kagome wouldn't have any reason to leave," Shippo continued, suddenly oblivious to the pair of eyes that peered at him from another tree.

Without warning, Shippo was knocked from his branch and grabbed in midair by a large, strong hand.  The hand then lifted the kit up, bringing him level with the beast to which it was attached.

"Scream for me, young one."

"INUYASHA!"

********** (end flashback)

About an hour later, Sango stopped short at the edge of the forest, signaling the others to stop.  The demon exterminator quietly doubled back to her friends.

"What's wrong, Sango?" Kagome asked in a quiet voice.

"We're here."

The exterminator didn't have to elaborate on what "here" meant.  Kagome had been dreading this arrival for the last hour.  She knew they needed to retrieve Inuyasha's body, that he deserved a proper funeral.  But deep down in her heart, Kagome wasn't sure she could stand to see his corpse.  It killed her last night to see him hanging from that cross, a beacon for pain and grief.  He looked…so broken.

"I can sense the fading presence of that horde of youkai we encountered last night," Miroku said as he gripped his metal staff with two hands.  "There also appears to be something…else that's closer, more recent."

"We should be quick then," Sango muttered, moving her hand to grasp the handle of Hiraikotsu.

The group nodded their agreement before silently exiting the forest and entering…

…An empty meadow.

"Where is he?" Kagome asked, looking from one end of the meadow to the other.  The meadow's appearance had changed drastically since last night.  The ground was scorched and smoldering in some places.  The center of the field, the spot where Inuyasha had been just the night before, was replaced by a sizeable crater.

Miroku glanced around the field.  "I do not like this."

"What's wrong, Miroku?" Shippo asked from his perch on one of Kagome's shoulders.

"That 'something else' has disappeared…" Sango answered, guessing that was what troubled the monk.

"That's good," Shippo responded before pausing uncertainly, "isn't it?"

"No, Shippo, I don't believe it is," Miroku said, suddenly whipping around, only to encounter nothing.  _"I could've sworn I felt it behind us!"_  He glanced at Sango, who seemed to also have felt the sudden change, as she crouched into a battle-ready stance.  A worried expression spread across her face.  Wherever it was hiding, this creature had officially spooked them.

Kagome slowly slipped her bow from her shoulder as she deftly notched an arrow.  She couldn't sense any Shikon shards, but she could feel the immense power; probably that of the youkai Miroku was searching for.  It was strange, though.  Something felt different about this from the ones that attacked last night.

Her attention was suddenly drawn to the center of the crater.  A blue faint light had begun to glow from the center…and if she squinted, she could almost make out a form…

Dropping her bow, Kagome took off for the light; unaware that Shippo had fallen off her shoulder due to the unexpected movement.  Each casting a suspicious look to the other, both Miroku and Sango turned to the center of the crater, though they saw nothing there; no blue light, no familiar form.

It wasn't a long run, barely over fifty yards, and when she finally reached the point where the blue light engulfed her; she could better see the form in front of her.  Fire-rat fur covered his entire body in a baggy red haori.  Long, silver locks of hair framed his peaceful face which was pointed towards the sky.  Inuyasha stood before her, his body whole and mended.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered, reaching a hand out to touch him, to make sure he was real…

…but her hand passed straight through his form, making contact with nothing.  Slowly retracting her hand, Kagome felt hot tears begin to travel down her face as a choked sob burst from her throat.

His eyes suddenly left the sky and turned towards her, and that's when she realized that what she first thought was a peaceful look on his face had actually been a sad one.  His eyes held her own and displayed to her all his grief, all his pain, until she was forced to look away.

He reached out to her then, hoping to rest his hand on her cheek and comfort her, show her everything would be alright.  However, his hand could comfort no better than a cool breeze.

At this, Kagome turned her gaze back to his face, only to see that he was once again looking to the sky, seemingly studying each cloud.  Finally he faced her, that same sad look still in his eyes.

"Kagome,"

His voice sounded defeated, the life gone from it.

"Run."

His words hadn't begun to sink in when he shot both arms forward and pushed her, his hands actually making contact with her body.  Kagome flew backwards, traveling away from Inuyasha as two orbs of energy exploded where she had just seen him.

"INUYASHA!" she screamed as she was snatched out of the air by Sango who was aboard Kirara.  Looking down, she saw that the blue light had vanished, replaced by the blazing red of flames.  Below them, Miroku stood with Shippo at his side, the monk franticly scanning the skies for this new danger.

A slight tingling at the edge of her senses was Kagome's only warning.

"Miroku, look ou-!" she screamed, but before she could finish her shout, another large blast of energy exploded on the ground beside the monk, sending both he and the kitsune to the ground.

"Miroku!" Sango screamed as she set Kirara down and rushed over to the fallen houshi while Kagome ran to Shippo's body.  "Kagome, what happened?  Where did those energy blasts come from?" Sango shouted over the chaos that had suddenly erupted all around them.

"I-I don't know," Kagome replied as she checked Shippo for any injuries.  She stopped abruptly as her miko senses picked up another energy blast heading in her friend's direction.  "Sango!"

Kagome saw as Kirara threw herself in front of the demon exterminator and the monk, trying to shield them.  However, the force of the blast was greater than the first, thus throwing the three several yards away.  Kagome stole one quick glance to see that both Sango and Kirara were unconscious.  She did not see Miroku.

Kagome then froze as she realized the sun had suddenly been blocked out above her.  Slowly, she turned her face to the sky, only to have the sight she beheld cause her to gasp and hug Shippo's unconscious form to her body.

"Surrender, girl, or I will be forced to harm you," a crack of thunder commanded her.  The voice belonged to the man that now floated above her, his gigantic wings flapping in a slow rhythm.  The wings were covered in white feathers that, coupled with the sun being directly behind him, gave the image that the man was actually emitting pure light.

A small groan from her arms drew Kagome's eyes to Shippo, who was just now coming around.  Kagome then turned her gaze back to the winged man above her…she had never seen anything like him…

But Shippo had. 

"Tenshi." 

**********

Inuyasha was seething.  He had been trapped in this damn clearing for well over thirty minutes and he was pissed.  To think he had been going easy on the brat for the last week.  Well screw that, Inuyasha was gonna make Shippo pay.

"Damn kid's wasting my entire day!  I could be doing more productive things than just sitting around here!" the hanyou yelled into the forest.

_"Yeah, like waiting by the well for Kagome," his inner voice chimed in._

"Feh," the hanyou responded, brushing off his thoughts.

Hopefully, he could catch Shippo and beat on him before Kagome got back.  Usually, the kit would be so happy about her return that he would forget all about tattling on Inuyasha.  The kid sometimes forgot about things because of his short attention sp-

"YOU BETTER NOT HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME SHIPPO!"

His cry was not answered with the expected silence of the forest.  Instead, it was met with another cry, a fearful cry.

"Inuyasha!" the yell traveled through the forest.  Shippo was screaming for him.  Inuyasha instantly set his senses to work, trying to locate the kitsune and identify whatever had gotten him so worked up.

Shippo.  South of here.  Another demon nearby.  Big demon.  Powerful demon.

"Screw this," Inuyasha growled before leaping in the direction of Shippo's cry…

…Only to be yanked back to the ground thanks to his hand that was trapped underneath the statue.

"Inuyasha!  HELP ME!" came Shippo's cry again.

Panic.  Shippo.  Needed to reach him.  Panic.  Statue.  Shippo.  Panic.

Inuyasha furiously tugged at his arm, feeling his shoulder dislocate and then right itself numerous times as he continued to pull.

Panic.

Inuyasha's thoughts were cut off by another cry for help from the kit.  He suddenly stopped and took a ragged breath before readying himself for one final tug.  He had to free himself from the statue quickly, even if he had to tear his arm off to do it. 

All he knew was that he needed to reach Shippo.  Now. 

**********

**Oh, how do you like the double cliffhanger?  Once again, I'm sorry about how long this chapter took to get up, but now its here.  The story is about to pick up a lot of steam as we meet our main villain (Kuma-Shiro) for the first time; plus some familiar faces should make an appearance as well.  Next chapter, the action finally gets underway.**

**Reviews for Chapter 3:**

**Luminescent: Ah shucks, you've gone and made me blush.  Thanks for your support.**

**Byakuya****: Thanks for the…interesting post, Byakuya.  Keep Bob away from me.**

**Mockingbird917: Yawsa!  Read this chapter and you tell me if he is or isn't.**

**Tigers_eye_stable****: Thanks for the review, like I've said before, I just 'get' angst.  Remember, this is an Inuyasha fic, so I'd be hard pressed not to make him a pretty central character to it just because I might have killed him off.  If anime has taught us anything, it's that 'death don't mean forever'.**

**Black Mage Dad: Well, I hope this chapter has been as interesting as the others.  Don't worry though; I don't intend to leave this story unfinished.**

**Dark Mimi-chan: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, but I hope it has lived up to the past chapters in regard to angst.  Keep sobbing…er, reading.**

**Crispy Muffin: I'll tell you a secret, but only if you deep it on the DL: we're gonna find out what happened to Inuyasha after he was captured next chapter.  The chapter after that, we might see the return of Inuyasha…kinda.**

**storm runner: Inuyasha is dead?  Who said that?  Oh right, I did.  Keep reading.**

**Gigi-chan****: I'm hoping to make this an epic adventure for the Inuyasha gang, so all your questions will be hopefully answered but probably not right away (especially that Inu/Kag one).**

**Feyhowl****: It is a sad reality for Inuyasha, but unfortunately, it's about to get a whole lot sadder.**

**AleGnA****: Thank you.**


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